I know, I know, this one's a little short but I promise the next one is much longer :) Thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/told me to get better soon... Antibiotics and hilarious emails really do wonders for ones health!

Unfortunately, I have a small mountain of assignments building up and I really, really need to pass so it might be awhile before I can pump out another chapter but some of it's group work and I can probably try to pan some of the off on to someone :P Well, not really but it's a nice thought. This said, tonight I am refusing to do any uni work so who knows, maybe I'll get another done tonight and then y'all can have two juicy morsels in one go!

Yes, Helen's getting a little less 'Helen' but I SWEAR there is a method to my madness!

Again, italics are flashbacks...

Let me know what you think

Enjoy

xx

Henry was the first to realise something was going on. Out of nowhere he stood up, dropping his tablet unceremoniously, hands flicking to the gun strapped to his hip.

"What is it?" Kate asked, immediately on high alert. Both stood silently for a moment, eyes flickering around the corridor.

"It's just me," Helen called out, her footsteps giving away her slow approach. Kate relaxed but Henry still looked wary.

"Doc?" he called out cautiously. "What are you doing?"

"I came to check on Will," she said softly, coming to a stop a few metres away from him.

"Why?" he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly towards her voice.

"Henry," she chided, her voice steely.

"He kinda has a point," Kate said, coming to stand next to Henry. "You did sort of attack him."

"I am sorry that I injured Will but I think it is now abundantly clear that we need to improve out security protocols," she said, using her best school marm voice. She saw Henry and Kate's faces flash with guilt and breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully they'd ease up on the questions she couldn't answer. Trying to make up for lost time, Helen darted towards the control panel next to the door. She started tapping away on the keys, proud that Henry had gotten so far through the protocols she had set in place.

"Ahhh, what are you doing?" Kate asked, watching the buttons depress on their own.

"She's reversing the lock out," Henry said, eyes flicking to his tablet. It was a few minutes before she managed to do it but soon enough the thick doors slid away to reveal a very miffed looking Will.

"It's about time," he grouched as he pulled himself out of the chair. Henry flicked his gaze over to where he assumed Magnus would be.

"Uhhh, actually Will, it was the Doc who got you out," he said tentatively. Will froze immediately his eyes wide as they searched the room.

"Over here," Helen said helpfully. He flinched slightly at her voice before narrowing his eyes towards her.

"You attacked me," he accused glumly. Clearly he'd decided to forget that she was, in fact, the boss. She decided to let it slide this time.

"I'm sorry," she said earnestly, "I honestly can offer no explanation for my actions, only an apology."

Will seemed to consider this for a moment before sighing heavily. Helen had to bite back a nasty retort to his actions. She shook her head. How on earth had she become so judgemental of her friends? She'd attacked Will outright with no real explanation, he deserved to be peeved.

"Well, what do we do now?" Kate asked. "Biggie said we've still got at least another three hours until the tests come through. Something about a power shortage in the lab."

"That would be Nikola," Helen said with a sigh. His attempt to find something useful from the situation had become quite a hindrance. Although, she mused as the others debate their options, he did look absolutely adorable with those little smudges of soot all over his face. She was so used to seeing him dressed impeccably that seeing him in such a state of disarray wasn't something she'd soon forget.

Suddenly her mind was foggy, thinking back to the last instructions she'd given her troublesome vampire. Woah, her mind started to reel. Nikola? Her vampire? Bloody hell! The fog cleared temporarily and she heard a snippet of their conversation.

"I'm not going back to bed," she said firmly. They all looked at her startled. "I'm not going back to lie down in that damn bed!" she said, a little more forcefully than she intended. Now they all looked worried. "I can't promise I won't try and break out again," she warned as her body started to shake. Just the thought of being contained like that was having the strangest effect on her. She could feel pure anger and fear bubbling up inside her. She took several steadying breaths and tried to blink away the peculiar rage. "I'm not kidding," she said, her voice shaking with fright. "It would be a very bad idea."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked.

"Please just trust me," she cried, exasperated. Noting the fear in her voice, Henry nodded.

"It's O.K, we aren't going to make you do anything," he said soothingly, approaching her slowly. Helen felt the relief flood through her system and her knees gave out. She instinctively reached out and grabbed onto the nearest table, bring it crashing down with her.

"Doc," Henry yelled. The three of them worked until they found a warm, solid mass. With much struggling and straining, they managed to pull her out from under the table. "Doc?" Henry said, shaking what he hoped were her shoulders.

"I'm fine," she managed to whisper. "I just… I need to get up." Her voice was already getting stronger and she tried to fight against their hold.

"You collapsed, you aren't fine," Kate said, concerned for her boss.

"I had a panic attack, that's all," Helen bit back, her clipped British tones back to normal. "Now release me." Her voice was dangerously cold and Kate's first instinct was to back away. "Now!" Helen almost shouted. Slowly, the three of them backed off and the only sound in the room was her heavy breathing.

"It's the blood," she said after a while, her voice steady but hands still shaking. "Something about that creature. Mood swings."

"How do we treat it?" Will asked worriedly.

"I… I… I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "I'll wait until the blood work comes back."

Slowly she started to leave the room. Henry noticed the pile of debris move and jumped into action.

"Woah! Where are you going?" he asked.

"To my office," she answered tiredly. "I need to stay calm and I've got mountains of paper work to do. Come to me when we have the test results."

Henry looked like he was about to argue but she cut in again. "I'll be fine, I promise. Send someone to check on me every hour but other than that, stay away. I don't want to hurt any of you." They all stood a little gobsmacked as her shuffling footsteps moved to the hallway and then faded away.

She'd barely made it halfway to her office when her mind started to whir again. Nikola. His smell seemed to hang in the air. Before she realised where she was going, Helen found herself taking something of a detour. She could hear the shower running from a mile away, the steam snaking out from under his door. She felt alive again, the blood coursing through her veins with renewed vigour, chasing away her earlier lethargy.

Part of her mind wondered how she'd gotten to the residential corridor but that other was more preoccupied with the soft, out of tune humming coming from the other side of the door. With a grin she pushed it open. His room was empty, the door to the ensuite slightly ajar. The humming was louder now, as was the scent hanging in the air. She started to wonder if he used body wash but dismissed the thought immediately. It wasn't important.

"Shower?" she repeated. "The seventh thing you'd do if you were invisible would be to bathe? You do realise I don't have security cameras in the bathrooms? You can do it when you're visible, it would make for a nice change," she joked.

"No, I'd sneak in on your shower."

She slapped him.

"You asked," he complained and she started to giggle.

With a grin she padded forwards, hoping his mind was paying enough attention to that mindless tune he was humming that her movements would go unnoticed. At first she headed straight for the bathroom but then stopped. There was no need to follow his list to the letter, a little improvisation could never hurt. She moved silently to his cupboards, full to the brim with clothes he rarely wore. She quickly reached out to where she knew the key would be. With a flick of the wrist, she locked all his clothes away. Then she headed to the bathroom.

She pushed the door open quickly, sending a gust of cool air through the room. Nikola spun around, shocked at the change in temperature. It took all of three seconds for his face to break into an almighty smile.

"Helen?" he queried. "Are you there?"

She fought with herself for a good few seconds.

"No."

He chuckled at her. "Whatever brings you to my humble abode?"

She struggled to contain a laugh at his attitude.

"Have you gone shy all of a sudden?" he asked through the steam. She was tempted to move closer but she knew the sound would give her away. Again she almost laughed when she realised that he knew that she couldn't see him properly. Unexpectedly, his hand shot out a grabbed at a towel and she couldn't help the little noise of disappointment.

He chuckled at her before turning off the water. The room was now silent and Helen held her breath. All at once her sense came back to her and she struggled to remain standing. Why was she here? How did she get her? More importantly, WHY HADN'T SHE LEFT YET? Then she caught sight of his torso, wet and far more defined than she'd expected. A coy smile sprang to her lips and she formulated a new plan. Moving with agility she didn't know she possessed, Helen darted forwards, ripping the towel from his waist before picking up the remaining towel and his dirtied clothes before sprinting from the room.

She was already in the hallway before she heard his startled noise of dismay and she couldn't help but laugh as she sprinted towards her office, dropping the towels along the way.